The present invention relates to a gravity fed hydraulic device and, more specifically, relates to a hydraulic device having a reciprocating balance beam employing a counterweight and a bucket for receiving the gravity flow fluid and for selectively releasing such fluid, thereby driving the balance beam in a reciprocating manner.
Utilizing the water flowing naturally across the surface of the earth to provide motive power has been known since the beginning of history. Examples of such utilization of gravity flow fluid drives are a gristmill, a sawmill, and, in fact, the modern electric power plant built into the huge hydro-electric dams constructed over the last fifty years. All such previous systems suffered from one disadvantage or another and, in the case of the earlier systems, they tended to be large and cumbersome and relatively permanent in their locations. In the case of the typical hydroelectric installations, they are highly complex and do not lead themselves to either inexpensive fabrication or individual use by the general public.
Representative of some of the earlier gravity flow drive fluid pumps are U.S. Pat. Nos. 109,622 issued to Hutchinson, 221,340 issued to Morgan, and 836,504 issued to Jones. The Hutchinson water elevator employs a catch lever and roller to steady the bucket during filling. The fluid used to fill the bucket is also the fluid being pumped. A disadvantage of the Hutchinson water elevator is the length of time required to drain the bucket, thereby making the device operate rather slowly. The pump of Morgan employs an upper and lower cistern, with the fluid in the upper cistern used to drive the pump, before being pumped to its ultimate destination from the lower cistern. Morgan uses a bucket on each end of a walking beam and has a complex framework and crankarm to tip over alternately the full buckets to obtain reciprocal motion. In the Jones pump, two buckets are also used in conjunction with a complicated oscillating through arrangement to feed water alternately to the buckets. Instead of tipping the buckets to empty them, Jones provides a tapered valve stem and a small outlet opening in the bottom of the bucket to release the water.
All of these prior devices suffer various drawbacks, the most common being the complex mechanical arrangements employed to achieve reciprocal pump drive. Additionally, the piping and valving arrangements employed to fill and empty the buckets are overly complex for the simple tasks which they perform.
Additionally, due to recent national and international events, attention has been turned away from the traditional power sources, such as fossil fuels and the like, for generating electricity and attention is now being directed towards utilizing the natural environment to provide motive power. For example, California is exploiting geothermal capabilities and solar power systems are being built in many diverse locations.
Therefore, although it has now become more economical to attempt to use gravity fed fluid, i.e., streams and rivers flowing with some rapidity, as a source of motive power, the type of hydraulic device which utilizes gravity fluid flow as a motive force has in the past been highly complex and has required a large number of valves, moving parts and complicated piping arrangements.